if the world falls apart in 2012 could we survive

[ToxicJay]

i just watched a show how the US goverment is preparing for something in 2012 (for the important ppl anyway)
so once it all happens what ever it may be if anything could the common folk move on and survive
so if 50% of the worlds population lives thru what ever it may be after all the looting fighting for power and other ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
i think we depend to much on other ppl to survive alone anymore like back in the day
to start of if 30% of the original 50% who survive depend on perscripsion drugs on a day to day basis there dead
and if the rest continue to look at each other like i want what u have type thing could we do it

im going to test myself this summer to see if i can live in the woods of the grid for 3 months mind u im going to bring a ♥♥♥♥ load of supplies but for humanity to go back to square one

could we do it ?
were not nearly as strong as we were 150 years ago, i mean ya we live longer and appear to live better lives
but i believe we value life too much of course we all want to live thats what were all about

i think a major population wipe is exactly what we need to survive
harsh but true

[momo3bur]

Originally Posted by ToxicJay

i just watched a show how the US goverment is preparing for something in 2012 (for the important ppl anyway)
so once it all happens what ever it may be if anything could the common folk move on and survive
so if 50% of the worlds population lives thru what ever it may be after all the looting fighting for power and other ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
i think we depend to much on other ppl to survive alone anymore like back in the day
to start of if 30% of the original 50% who survive depend on perscripsion drugs on a day to day basis there dead
and if the rest continue to look at each other like i want what u have type thing could we do it

im going to test myself this summer to see if i can live in the woods of the grid for 3 months mind u im going to bring a ♥♥♥♥ load of supplies but for humanity to go back to square one

could we do it ?
were not nearly as strong as we were 150 years ago, i mean ya we live longer and appear to live better lives
but i believe we value life too much of course we all want to live thats what were all about

i think a major population wipe is exactly what we need to survive
harsh but true

Wow...it's funny to me that you're having these thoughts because I was just doing some contemplating of my own on what the human body would need for survival if we weren't offered the luxuries we have today.

We'd have to hunt for ourselves, learn to build for ourselves, gather food, etc. We can obviously do it as a species, but individually I'm not sure. I would suspect many people may not make it through as it would probably be more of a survival of the fittest type of situation, even if only a short while.

In other words, when you're sleeping in the freezing cold with nothing to eat but leaves, nuts, and tree bark for two months I would imagine you'd have to be pretty darn resilient physically to make it.

Honestly, though, I don't believe it would take us long to have things going again. I think we'd almost immediately have shelters built and work on water supply, waste removal, etc.

Electricity and things like that we understand now, so once we are able to make the resources available again, we'd be able to get that back too.

I don't feel like we'll ever truly be able to go back to complete wilderness survival mode as an entire species unless somehow all of our knowledge of power was erased or only people with no experience in modern, 1st world society actually survived. In any case, I believe we'd make through one way or another unless the Earth becomes so barren and unusable we have no way to feed from her.

I think we'd be surprised the things we're capable of when faced with situations where we are forced to survive. Like a zombie apocalypse!

[ToxicJay]

yeah your right we do have the know how to keep going and survive
i think it all sounds alot easier then it realy is like we all have a basic idea how electricity works and how to grow a plant and to build a shelter

i think it would just be the initial struggle to get things back in order
like no more tim hortons coffee in the morning or rising crust pizza for dinner

most of us would starve unless the strong were willing to carry the weak until they can fend for themselfs

[momo3bur]

Originally Posted by ToxicJay

yeah your right we do have the know how to keep going and survive
i think it all sounds alot easier then it realy is like we all have a basic idea how electricity works and how to grow a plant and to build a shelter

i think it would just be the initial struggle to get things back in order
like no more tim hortons coffee in the morning or rising crust pizza for dinner

most of us would starve unless the strong were willing to carry the weak until they can fend for themselfs

Yes, I definitely agree. I think as a species, we'd survive, but we'd lose many, MANY individuals along the way.

I do believe I'd be making best friends with Bear Grylls. "Hello Bear, would you like another wife?" Cause God knows he'd have an entire population of people wanting his assistance.

I still say if the zombies are smart, they'll take him first. And then hopefully Carrot Top.

Keep us updated...well...fill us in after your few months in the woods vacation. You can do it! You may want to read a few survival books and try to learn about different plants, etc., in your area before you head out just for your own safety. I bet it'll be fun, though!

[ToxicJay]

well i always do lots of camping every year but the idea of coming home after a long weekend makes it alot easier and well a cooler of food doesnt hurt lol

ya bear hes my hero lol
oh and the guy who moved to twin lakes alaska (i think his movie about his travels is called "Alone in the wilderness") he lasted for 35 years

but going camping knowing u cant go home after kinda takes the fun out of it lol

[GregD]

The chances are you would not survive. Here is why:

Our technology is developed enough to protect us from a lot of the disasters which previously would kill hundreds of millions, so whatever the next catastrophe would be, logically, it must be something at a much larger scale than ever recorded in the current human memory.

If it is a natural disaster like meteor, then, as you have seen the movie 2012, everyone on the planet dies except those who are evacuated in the arks. So regular people like you and me stand no chance.

If it is a biological virus catastrophe, then again the elite will be put in isolation and protected with guns and walls like also illustrated in many movies of that type. The “outsiders” are left to fend for themselves and form murdering gangs. Again the vast majority of population dies and the remains are either mutated, radiated or basically doomed to failure one way or another while the elite continue evolving into an even more powerful civilization.

If it is World War 3 with thousands of nukes launched and hitting all over the planet then we destroy the planet and all die, except, again the elite who will be with supplies living deep in the Earth in already built bunkers and waiting for the grace period while the Earth heals itself and after X years they will re-emerge to the surface.

If it is a financial catastrophe then large commercial companies take over control of the planet and enslave the population to the point where the life of the individual has no value and can be terminated at wish.

If a technologically superior alien race comes along then as in the whole history of the human race the superior civilization always ends up enslaving or committing genocide on the inferior civilization.

I’ll stop here, tired of writing.
1 final point. We were tough and could survive “in the jungle” before and then we got soft. Now if the soft is thrown back into the jungle s/he will be destroyed. It is easy to become soft, but out of 100 only 1 soft could maybe become tough again.

[Lioness]

We're spoiled by the many modern conveniences we have, even most of the poorest in the western world have access to hot and cold running water, sanitary facilities, fast food, medicine, heat, transportation etc.

I don't know if I would be more miserable freezing in the winter without heat, proper clothing or shelter, or in the summer, sweating and dirty, getting eaten by fire ants and mosquitos, trying to keep the wild rats and snakes at bay.

There are plants that will feed you and those that will kill you.

But the human instinct to survive is strong. With potable water and some food source, and without serious injury, a person can last a long time.

I think the creature comfort I would miss the most is the ability to regulate temperature. And bathroom tissue

[James Fletcher]

Not sure about people in general, but I'll tell you who will be doing pretty alright in 2012 - Armageddon or not - and that's the people who stand to profit from peddling these nonsense prophecies to a gullible consumer market.

[Acting Like Godot]

Originally Posted by GregD

If it is a financial catastrophe then large commercial companies take over control of the planet and enslave the population to the point where the life of the individual has no value and can be terminated at wish.
.

The commercial corporation must be exceedingly stupid then.

ALG's first golden rule of business:

1. Do not kill your customers.

[Peterw]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

The commercial corporation must be exceedingly stupid then.

ALG's first golden rule of business:

1. Do not kill your customers.

Surely enslaving them would make better financial sense?

But then if they were slaves they wouldn't be paid anything and wouldn't have any money to buy stuff.... Hmm

[JSB]

I think the largest real "global level" danger over the next year or two is the upcoming highly active solar cycle. Periods of high sunspot and solar flare activity are normal and cyclical, but the one the Sun is moving into now looks to be especially strong, basically a season of especially bad "solar weather".

This would not have been much of an issue in the past, but our modern electronic communications and power networks are vulnerable to the blasts of charged particles that shower the Earth when large solar flares point in our direction. Living beings and the natural environment are protected from most of the effects of this radiation by the Earth's magnetic field, but electronic components in satellites are more sensitive to the effects.

Modern, highly-networked "smart" power grids are also more vulnerable than older grids; because these grids are larger and more interconnected to allow for easy transmission and routing of power over large distances, they are more affected by inductance and a huge magnetic field spike from a large solar storm could cause a huge voltage spike in the grid that could destroy transformers. Since the transformers would all need to be replaced, it could mean power grids being down for months over very large areas, even as power plants are functioning perfectly. This is a case where newer is not better, as older, less efficient/versatile power grid are also less vulnerable to the effects of inductance (i.e. smaller grids won't generate as high a level of DC voltage spike).

There was a solar "superstorm" in 1859 that temporarily disrupted telegraph service worldwide.

2012 or 2013 could very well see a period of large-scale power outages in the most technologically developed areas around the world lasting months on end. This may not be the "end of the world", but it would be a huge catastrophe with great loss of life and terrible economic effects.

Would humanity survive? Of course. Would YOU survive? If you live in a rural area with access to clean water, food, shelter (with heat if needed), and a means to defend your property, then yes, you'll be fine. If you live in downtown New York, London, or Shanghai, you would be faced with much greater challenges.

[momo3bur]

Originally Posted by JSB

I think the largest real "global level" danger over the next year or two is the upcoming highly active solar cycle. Periods of high sunspot and solar flare activity are normal and cyclical, but the one the Sun is moving into now looks to be especially strong, basically a season of especially bad "solar weather".

This would not have been much of an issue in the past, but our modern electronic communicaltions and power networks are vulnerable to the blasts of charged particles that shower the Earth when large solar flares point in our direction. Living beings and the natural environment are protected from most of the effects of this radiation by the Earth's magnetic field, but electronic components in satellites are more sensitive to the effects.

Modern, highly-networked "smart" power grids are also more vulnerable than older grids; because these grids are larger and more interconnected to allow for easy transmission and routing of power over large distances, they are more affected by inductance and a huge magnetic field spike from a large solar storm could cause a huge voltage spike in the grid that could destroy transformers. Since the transformers would all need to be replaced, it could mean power grids being down for months over very large areas, even as power plants are functioning perfectly. This is a case where newer is not better, as older, less efficient/versatile power grid are also less vulnerable to the effects of inductance (i.e. smaller grids won't generate as high a level of DC voltage spike).

There was a solar "superstorm" in 1859 that temporarily disrupted telegraph service worldwide.

2012 or 2013 could very well see a period of large-scale power outages in the most technologically developed areas around the world lasting months on end. This may not be the "end of the world", but it would be a huge catastrophe will great loss of life and terrible economic effects.

Would humanity survive? Of course. Would YOU survive? If you live in a rural area with access to clean water, food, shelter (with heat if needed), and a means to defend your property, then yes, you'll be fine. If you live in downtown New York, London, or Shanghai, you would be faced with much greater challenges.

Oh wow! This is very interesting! Thank you.

[JSB]

Originally Posted by momo3bur

Oh wow! This is very interesting! Thank you.

No problem!

There is a way to (theoretically) prevent this by installing resistors, but it's a large expensive project, and even if funding was provided, it would take awhile to install everything.

[ArielX]

There is so much hype to whether the world ending in 2012 (i.e. the movie 2012). I honestly think that by the time december 2012 rolls along people will be doing stupid things (Maybe suicide, quitting there jobs and spending there money to move away to places where they feel they'll be protected, I mean who the heck knows!!!!) Then when the faithful day of the 21st comes, nothing will happen. Our world will remain as is.

I blame the media!!! We all will be fine

[garentee]

Originally Posted by ArielX

There is so much hype to whether the world ending in 2012 (i.e. the movie 2012). I honestly think that by the time december 2012 rolls along people will be doing stupid things (Maybe suicide, quitting there jobs and spending there money to move away to places where they feel they'll be protected, I mean who the heck knows!!!!) Then when the faithful day of the 21st comes, nothing will happen. Our world will remain as is.

I blame the media!!! We all will be fine

Seems we went through this when 2000 rolled around, Y2K hype anyone?

[Vibration]

Originally Posted by ToxicJay

i think a major population wipe is exactly what we need to survive
harsh but true

Back before modern technology, like in the 17 and 1600s, it was rough living in comparison with today. People either made hard choices, dealt with difficult conditions the best they could and were resilient, or their lifetime was usually quite painful, short, or both.

Some modern folks will be able to adjust and survive in a similar case of hard living and some won't, being effectively paralyzed by the apparent inhumanity and not able to make difficult choices or cope.

This is part of the reason why people in governments can't make difficult choices today, for instance, reducing or completely cutting social entitlements: for many, they don't even see that as an option. This is not a good sign regarding such people's ability to survive hard times, which is unfortunate, since that's exactly what they're plunging everyone into as a result.

[Peterw]

Originally Posted by garentee

Seems we went through this when 2000 rolled around, Y2K hype anyone?

That was hilarious

[illbreaker]

Elinin will bring about a series of solar flares that will disrupt our power grid. It's gonna be a dog eat dog world. The Killshot will soon be upon us.

[newkaren]

If the apocalypse should happen in my lifetime I hope to be among the first to go.

I don't care to suffer, and I don't care to see others suffer.

Karen

[scorpio1980]

I will survive no matter what. I have a natural spring a couple minutes walk. I have excess water saved as well. I have a few months of food storage. Camping gear, guns, stuff to barter, silver, etc. I believe my chances are better than the average person.

[Leondegrance]

Originally Posted by ToxicJay

im going to test myself this summer to see if i can live in the woods of the grid for 3 months mind u im going to bring a ♥♥♥♥ load of supplies but for humanity to go back to square one...

People always choose Summer for this.. makes it all seem somewhat half-a**ed. You want to really challenge yourself? Try it in Winter

Food . Water . Shelter . Heat . Brains

[ssandra]

If a very large part of the population were to die, we have at least a year or two to survive on prepackaged foods, in which time we can figure out the entire hunting, finding and growing food thing.

Luckily there is still such a thing as libraries as well, including in universities, where you can look up plants and learn which ones you can eat and which you cannot, as well as how to grow your own... whatever you want to eat.

The main problem would be other human beings. Most, I believe, will be helpful, looking to maintain some form of civilization.

There will be a few however, who will go crazy with the power, go insane and get violent. It will be up to us as a society to not let those people get into a situation of power over others.

I think that will be our biggest problem, because when people are afraid it is easier to listen to the one who screams loudest then to the one who talks the wisest.

[Apresto]

Why 2012?, if there was a reason for the world to end it wouldn't be as expected and planned like Dec 2012. We as people put aside to nature are a very vulnerable creatures and that makes it very easy for whom ever wants to end this world. The time has come right now, don't think so

[wanzulfikri]

Will 2012 really happen?

-putting on thinking and skeptic cap-

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by ssandra

If a very large part of the population were to die, we have at least a year or two to survive on prepackaged foods, in which time we can figure out the entire hunting, finding and growing food thing.

Luckily there is still such a thing as libraries as well, including in universities, where you can look up plants and learn which ones you can eat and which you cannot, as well as how to grow your own... whatever you want to eat.

The main problem would be other human beings. Most, I believe, will be helpful, looking to maintain some form of civilization.

There will be a few however, who will go crazy with the power, go insane and get violent. It will be up to us as a society to not let those people get into a situation of power over others.

I think that will be our biggest problem, because when people are afraid it is easier to listen to the one who screams loudest then to the one who talks the wisest.

I'll be hiding in the woods with my sniper rifle for such people.

it's funny, but the 3rd world countries will probably do better then the rest of us.

[James81]

I don't understand how people can keep falling for this ♥♥♥♥. It boggles my mind how so many years there's a new date for the end if the world. In my lifetime the world was going to end in 1988, 2000, and now 2012.

I guess 12 years is all you need to fool some people into forgetting that nothing happened on the last 3 armageddons.

[russianrocket]

Originally Posted by James81

I don't understand how people can keep falling for this ♥♥♥♥. It boggles my mind how so many years there's a new date for the end if the world. In my lifetime the world was going to end in 1988, 2000, and now 2012.

I guess 12 years is all you need to fool some people into forgetting that nothing happened on the last 3 armageddons.

Maybe it's a matrix situation that we are having. Perhaps the world has come to an end multiple times, but the program keeps getting reset?

[momo3bur]

Haha! I hadn't noticed the pattern thus far.

I think people just need a bout of fright and drama every once in a while. Plus, if we didn't have to worry about armageddon, religions would die off pretty quickly.

There has to be SOMETHING for Christianity to use for marketing, then those rumors just so happen to bleed into every other belief system in one way or another.

Truth be told, who cares. If it ends, we're obviously screwed so why waste time worrying about it. If we're bombed, we're REALLY screwed. If zombies take over, I can personally say I'm screwed because I'm slow as ♥♥♥♥. If half of us die, it'll just give people an excuse breed like rabbits and kill each other for food.

I don't know why people keep this up. It is fun to pretend, though. IMO, everyone should attempt to survive in the woods for a few months and get in touch with their primal side.

[ZephyrusX]

If the world falls apart and I die in one of multiple horrendous possibilities, I'll finally have to face the stark reality that my cat will be the first one to start eating me.

[momo3bur]

Originally Posted by zephyrusx

if the world falls apart and i die in one of multiple horrendous possibilities, i'll finally have to face the stark reality that my cat will be the first one to start eating me.

heeeeeeeeeeere kitty kitty kitty...